The autumn cicadas are still chirping.
After hearing the question from the eldest prince Wanyan Woben, Qin Hui shuddered, but did not respond directly. Instead, he first scanned the people present.
Let’s say, this is the Shangshu Terrace in Yanjing. It has been a political habit for the young king to hold meetings here with their legs crossed for several years. Although the king is now seventeen years old and has been an adult for more than a year, his political influence is gradually increasing, but it is still not enough in front of the three princes.
In addition, the Great Jin Dynasty had an old system of tribal democracy, so no one had any doubts about this meeting model that represented the highest political power of the Great Jin Dynasty.
Isn't there a secret chamber in the Zhao Song in the south? So even if Emperor Zhao doesn't come back for a year, it won't delay anything.
It is said that it was learned from the Great Jin Dynasty.
Today, apart from the king Wanyan Hela who was not here as usual, the prime minister of the Jin prince's capital province... that is, the third prince Wanyan Erliduo... also went to Zhending Prefecture with some key officials to remotely control the situation. Therefore, only a few people were attending this meeting here at this time:
The Grand Tutor and the King of Liao were in charge of important military and state affairs, that is, the eldest prince Wanyan Oben;
The Prince of Wei led the Privy Council, that is, the fourth prince Wanyan Wushu;
Wanyan Xiyin, the deputy prime minister of the capital, the actual promoter of the Han-style reform, and the actual political and general affairs manager of the Jin Dynasty;
Hanlin Academician and Internal Controller, actually represents the 17-year-old king, Han Fang, who is also the leader of the Han people in Yanyun;
Hong Ya, who was transferred from Qi State and was the deputy to Wanyan Xiyin, was the deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the deputy to the Ministry of Finance.
The Privy Council Chief Secretary and Minister of Rites, Wulinda Zanmo;
The Left Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the New Army of Yanjing, Wanhu Wulinda Taiyu;
In addition, there are four more, namely Wanyan Talan, Wanyan Wuye, Wanyan Yinshuke and Wanyan Pujianu, who are typical new and old faces.
Among these four, the "scholar" Wanyan Wuye, who is less than forty years old, is a new face, but his promotion is expected, because he was the Jurchen teacher of the king, the king's confidant, and a close relative of the royal family (Talan's younger brother) and a pioneer of sinicization. The outside world believes that he is the successor of Wanyan Xiyin... Now that the king has come of age, of course there must be a place for the new Minister of Works.
However, the three old guys Wanyan Pujianu, Wanyan Talan and Wanyan Yinshuke returned to the core power, not only because the small ruler wanted to use these people's abilities to fight against his three uncles, but the entire ruling group had to do so due to the overall situation - there was no other reason, at the beginning of this year, just after the New Year, a late spring cold snap directly killed the former ruler Wuqimai, who was paralyzed on the kang, and went to see Taizu Wanyan Aguda.
Wuqimai was different from his son. He was the second king after the founding of the country. He was the pillar of the country as early as the time of Aguda, and helped Aguda stabilize the rear. Later, during his reign, he also completed the early invasion of the Song Dynasty, which led to the Jingkang Change, and helped the Jin Kingdom seize the two rivers as its heartland. At the same time, he also completed the partial centralization of national power during his tenure, and pacified and integrated various tribal forces outside the borders.
Although the political situation was out of control in his later years, it was not his fault. On his way from Yanjing to return to his political base, he was paralyzed by the wind. Who could he blame?
There really is nothing that can be done about this. Lou Shi made it very clear when he came to the Secretariat that time. That group of 'old people' from the founding period, from Aguda onwards, had generally suffered enough in their childhood, and fought hard on the battlefield in their youth and middle age. They could die at any time, and there was really nothing they could do.
It is an objective fact that the famous kings and generals of the founding of the country have been dying off.
In short, Wuqimai's political achievements were there, and he had no moral faults. Even when Wanyan Wushu staged a coup, the three brothers did not dare to deny him, but instead blamed the political situation on Nianhan. Later, when they wanted to eliminate Wuqimai's direct forces, they also had to conduct fishing enforcement, and they did not dare to touch Wuqimai.
Therefore, Wuqimai's death immediately triggered serious political turmoil.
Specifically, the old Jin forces outside the Great Wall, who were already extremely dissatisfied with the relocation of the capital and the reuse of Han people, immediately lost their patience and took advantage of this incident to launch a non-violent non-cooperation movement outside the Great Wall... Some were even violent non-cooperation movements... They vaguely said that the old king died because his son was killed by a traitor, and he was filled with sorrow and anger.
In this situation, Yanjing had to face pressure from the south, and the country was making great efforts to build up ten new armies of Yanjing, which were designed to be half of the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall and half of the Han people of Yanyun. It was even more impossible to turn against the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall at this time.
In the end, just like Emperor Zhao had to appease the opposition party in the southeast, the Great Jin also chose to appease the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall... Everyone has their own national conditions here... The first thing is to recognize Wuqimai's political achievements, and give him the temple name Emperor Taizong of the Great Jin, and his specific posthumous title is Emperor Tiyuan Yingyun Shide Zhaogongzhe Huirensheng Wenlie.
It is worth mentioning that this posthumous title was thought of by Qin Huizhi himself.
Secondly, he secretly gave up the ban on the smuggling of Goryeo luxury goods and at the same time generously rewarded the leaders of ethnic groups outside the Great Wall.
In the end, there was no other choice but to re-employ these old-school figures who might not necessarily represent the interests of the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall but could gain recognition from the ethnic groups outside the Great Wall.
Of course, although Wanyan Yinshu was nominally the commander-in-chief of the New Army of Yanjing, in fact the New Army of Yanjing was divided into two parts, led by Wanyan Talan and Wulindatai respectively. It was amazing that he could command his thousands of old subordinates.
Wanyan Pujianu was the deputy prime minister of the capital province, but in reality he was just a figurehead. With Wanyan Xiyin there, how could it be possible for this old man to interfere in government affairs?
The only person worth mentioning is Wanyan Talan. He had been indecisive and opportunistic before. In addition, due to the overall situation this time, he himself is a close relative of the royal family. In particular, there is Wanyan Huonu in the new army of Yanjing who cannot recover her political future. This gives him more opportunities, so this time he has officially returned to the core of central power.
Of course, the new army in Yanjing is full of new recruits, and there is no way for a live girl to move up. But that doesn't mean he is so easy to control. It will probably take time for Talan, who has long lost his minions in the army, to establish his power in the new army.
Therefore, even after returning to the center of power, Talai became much more honest. He followed the three princes in everything and never overstepped the line.
Finally, of course, the people present could not be missing a deputy envoy of the Privy Council, Qin Hui, who actually served as the deputy of several princes in terms of government affairs and strategies and was involved in all aspects of the affairs of the Jin Dynasty.
Putting them together, there are exactly twelve people at this time.
转回眼前，蝉鸣依旧，秦会之看了一圈人，脑子转过一圈信息，实际上却只是瞬间而已，而他只是稍微顿了一顿，便朝大太子完颜斡本正色出言：
"Your Highness, Prince of Liao, do you want to ask whether the things in the Song Dynasty's newspaper are true or false, or do you want to ask whether the Song Dynasty will cross the river?"
"I want to ask about everything." Wanyan Oben had already built up his momentum and urged directly on the futon. "I want to ask whether it's true or not, and whether I want to ask about crossing the river... First, tell me whether it's true or not, then talk about crossing the river."
Qin Hui nodded and responded calmly: "If this is the case, so that the two kings and colleagues know, I think that even the Emperor Zhao Song himself may not be able to tell whether the information in the court report is true or false."
Of the remaining eleven people, except for Wanyan Xiyin who remained calm and seemed to have realized the situation a long time ago, the remaining ten were all stunned, and then seemed to be thinking about something.
"If you put it bluntly, it's actually very simple." Qin Hui glanced at Wanyan Xiyin, and seeing that he seemed to be disdainful of such explanations, he continued. "That is, documents are documents, and reality is reality... Whether it is the Song Dynasty or the Jin Dynasty, there are the capital province, the Privy Council, the Censorate, the Six Ministries, the Nine Ministers, the Five Supervisors, as well as scholars, servants, secretaries, and even the various military offices, control offices, and imperial city offices. The system has been like this for thousands of years. There is always someone in charge of all kinds of things in the world... For example, as early as the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, there were three officials who were in charge of the financial strategy. The accounts of the imperial army for a year were detailed to the last penny, and they were also written into memorials and recorded. But was the military expenditure of the Renzong Dynasty really so detailed and clear?"
The remaining ten people also woke up completely.
Wanyan Talai shook his head and sneered, "I was wondering, how could the Song Dynasty be so capable? That Emperor Zhao went to Jiangnan for a year, but once he returned to the Central Plains, he walked from Nanjing to Tokyo in just half a month, and he was able to take charge of the country's internal affairs, foreign affairs, logistics and military supplies so well? It turned out to be just paperwork. And paperwork, there are so many government officials, as long as they report it according to the rules, there will always be an explanation."
"Even so, it should not be taken lightly." Wanyan Xiyin finally interrupted, but it was a serious reminder to everyone present. "Let me ask you, is it better to have documents or not... Is it better to be as detailed as a penny, or as rough as a hundred strings of cash? Only with systems, officials, and documents can we follow the map when something happens, and only when we want to do something can we directly dispatch it without thinking twice. If there is no document, even if the Zhao Song government wants to scare us in the official newspaper, we don't know how to scare us!"
Seeing Xi Yin so serious, Talai immediately felt embarrassed. The others were also a little dissatisfied when they heard Xi Yin talking about everyone as if he was lecturing a child, but no one showed it.
"That's right." Qin Hui then slowly added, "Besides, although the words written by the Emperor Zhao Song in the official report were intended to scare us and encourage himself, they were not necessarily lies to scare people... I just want to say that we can't verify such things anyway, and the Emperor Zhao Song can't be as knowledgeable about national politics and military affairs as he claims in the official report, so no one should take the specific content above seriously."
When everyone heard this, they nodded with emotion. Even Hong Ya, after looking at Qin Hui with interest, immediately nodded continuously, as if he was thinking about something.
To put it bluntly, there are basically no stupid people in the Shangshu Tai in Yanjing. Even some empty-headed people like Wanyan Pujianu led troops during the reign of Taizu and once served as Wanyan Nianhan's deputy, but were later replaced by Xi Yin.
Moreover, Qin Hui and Wanyan Xiyin’s analysis was very direct and the logic was very simple, so it was not difficult to understand.
That's it...what else can I do?
You know, it is very difficult to have those idealistic, death-defying professional spies these days. It's not that there are no corresponding patriotic people, nor that we can't send corresponding people to do corresponding activities, but that the transportation conditions and information transmission conditions make such actions extremely inefficient and meaningless.
In fact, since ancient times, the concept of so-called spies has been more of a concurrent role... For example, small armed reconnaissance and harassment forces, who go for reconnaissance and raids, are of course typical "spies".
For example, it is natural for envoys between countries to go to different places to test the other side's political attitude, investigate the geography and observe the military deployment along the way, which is also an act of espionage.
For example, high-ranking civil servants and military leaders with speculative capabilities, even tribes that are qualified to be fence-sitters, or even third-party countries that are indecisive, choose to convey certain information at a specific time, or even turn against the United States on the spot... These are all standard espionage behaviors.
As for the very few who were in Cao's camp but their hearts were with Han, most of them could only play the roles of Fa Zheng and Zhang Song, Geng Ji and Jin Yi. Even Fa Zheng and Zhang Song could only play a role after Liu Yuzhou entered Shu, which required the corresponding military and political atmosphere... And now the Song and Jin countries were facing each other along the Yellow River, with their political bases separated by thousands of miles, which basically suppressed pure espionage activities to a very low level.
Zheng Yinian must have accepted a so-called standard spy mission before he left, but he became a loyal minister of Emperor Zhao when he returned, including Gao Qingyi who followed him and did nothing but went back obediently. Before his brother Zheng Xiunian came from the south, he even registered with the Imperial City Department, and now he is also considered a high-ranking official of the Jin Dynasty. Another registered person, Hong Ya, even sits in this Shangshutai, but are they really considered spies?
It's just like storing a seed and waiting for the right time to bring it into being.
Let’s get back to the current situation of the confrontation between Song and Jin... low-intensity military reconnaissance on the front line has definitely never stopped, and small-scale infiltrations have definitely occurred, but as long as the Northern Expedition is not suddenly launched, most of the military intelligence along the river will be of no use... because it will soon expire.
As the saying goes, big things cannot be kept secret, and small things are worthless.
As for wanting to get some high-level political information about the other side, the Song Dynasty can't even count on the Taihang Volunteer Army, so it's better to count on the Koreans. The Jin Dynasty is even worse, so they might as well read the other side's official bulletins.
But now the court bulletins can no longer be trusted, because the Zhao Song government has seen that the court bulletins have already gained credibility and public opinion power, so they have begun to use this to deceive people.
In fact, this deception may not be entirely directed at the Jurchens, but may also be directed at the Song people themselves.
When the common people in the south saw such detailed military deployment, the deployment of hundreds of thousands of troops, and the military reserves of tens of millions of strings of cash...including the armor rate of less than 100%, it was hard to say whether it was a self-exposure or bragging.
Of course, having said this, the people in the Shangshutai still have not solved the most direct problem.
"Then let's not worry about it." Wanyan Wuben felt a little unhappy when he saw Qin Hui fooling around with a question, so he continued to ask. "Prime Minister Qin, just tell me whether the Zhao Song will cross the river to attack the north this time!"
Qin Hui was silent again for a moment, and then answered simply with one word: "Yes."
Inside the main hall of the Secretariat, the cicadas chirped non-stop. All of Wanyan Wuben and his subordinates lost their voices, except for Wanyan Wushu, who remained expressionless.
"What do you mean?" After a while, Han Fang couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Mr. Qin say that the news in the court newspaper was not certain to be true or false?"
"It's the content that's uncertain, but no matter if it's true or not, it shows that this Zhao official has made a gesture both internally and externally... Why did he do those things? Isn't it to intimidate you and me? Isn't it to cheer up his own family?"
"Since it's just a threat..."
"Mr. Han didn't understand what I meant... This matter has nothing to do with whether he was intimidating or showing weakness, nor does it have anything to do with whether the contents of the report are true or false. The key is that this Emperor Zhao has never hesitated in his actions since the first year of Jianyan!" Qin Hui suddenly raised his voice, shocking the Jin dignitaries in the hall. "He blocked Bagong Mountain on the Huai River and rejected the Fourth Prince in order to survive! He escaped from Nanyang, seized the army from Yanling, and defeated the King of Lu (Wanyan Talan) in order to gain a foothold! He fought a decisive battle at Yaoshan and personally welcomed the King of Yue (Wanyan Loushi) in order to compete for luck! He destroyed Xixia and made Liao and Mongolia his vassal in order to seize power... Step by step, layer by layer, no matter what he thought in his heart, and we don't know what he thought, we can only say that when things came to an end, did this person have any hesitation?! Did he ever dare not gamble?! Did he ever pretend to be mysterious but did nothing?!"
The whole hall was silent, even the cicadas outside the hall seemed frightened. Only Qin Hui kept shouting:
"If you count carefully, it has been three years since the last Xixia war, and more than eight years since this man ascended the throne. If you count the war between Song and Jin, it has been a full ten years... Everyone, even if the contents of the court reports cannot be trusted, in these three years, has he expanded his army and stored food? Did he go to the south to pacify the southeast for a whole year? Did he accumulate eight years of merit and ten years of shame, and then just wait for the Northern Expedition? If he only waits for the Northern Expedition, then we should ask why he doesn't come to attack, not why he wants to attack! I dare to ask you, he has already accumulated troops and the rear is settled, why doesn't he come to attack?"
At this point, Qin Huizhi's face was serious. He looked around at everyone and made a conclusion: "I am the only one here with my wife. Let's stake our lives on this... The Zhao Song officials are just making false threats, but they are just making false threats in order to cross the river to attack the north!"
"If they are coming to attack, when will it be?" After a while, the Fourth Prince and King of Wei Wushu skipped this question and broke the silence.
"Maybe tomorrow, maybe next spring..." Qin Hui remained unequivocal. "But if there is no current situation, it should be later next spring."
"What do you mean?" Wuzhu's expression remained unchanged.
"Although the imperial reports are not trustworthy, there are some things that must be believed... For example, the decree to fully staff the 300,000 troops in the southern imperial camp was only decided in the first half of this year, so if we want to accomplish it, we have to wait until autumn or early winter. Also, if we transport this year's autumn grain to the warehouse during the winter, the people will feel at ease." Qin Hui answered fluently. "These two things cannot be concealed by the Zhao Song Dynasty, and there is no need to conceal them."
"That's true...but why not send out the troops in winter when the troops are fully staffed and stored in warehouses, but in spring?" King Wanyan Oben of Liao, who was sitting at the top, frowned.
"The most important thing is the Yellow River." Before Qin Hui could speak, Wuzhu beside him explained directly. "The Yellow River has two old courses and four branches that go deep into Hebei. Daming Prefecture is sandwiched between two old courses. If the Song army wants to go all out to fight the Northern Expedition, it is impossible to give up the advantage on the water. The Yellow River generally has two dry seasons, which prevent large ships from entering the old Yellow River courses... One is midsummer, when there is often little rain in the upper reaches, but whether it will dry up depends on luck; the other is naturally midwinter, not only because of the deep water, but also because of ice. In addition , the spring plowing in the south is earlier than in the north, and they come after spring, which can also create a time difference."
Since Wuzhu had spoken, everyone couldn't help but take a quick look at the King of Wei... The meaning was very obvious. The Fourth Prince actually had mature thoughts and opinions on this matter, and they coincided with Qin Hui's.
And if this is the case, it will make those present more convinced.
In fact, Wanyan Oben, who had no experience in using troops in the south, immediately came to his senses after hearing this, and then briefly summarized:
"So, Zhao Song's northern expedition is inevitable, but unless something big happens, it will most likely come after the spring plowing next year? This wave of reports is mostly empty threats to make us tired of dealing with them?"
"But we have to be on guard." Talai expressed his opinion again, but he said something nonsense. "If there is a big mistake, given the character of the Southern Emperor Zhao, he will definitely cross the river without hesitation..."
Wanyan Oben nodded, "But we can't be over-deployed. Everything must be done in moderation. The third brother goes to Zhending Prefecture, which is enough to coordinate Taiyuan, Xijing (Datong), Daming Prefecture, and Longde Prefecture... The key is that we are here in Yanjing, and we must make all preparations. We must collect food and grass, gather soldiers and horses, gather leaders, and count military equipment."
"We need to prepare the list in advance and be ready to mobilize and sign the troops at any time... half of them will be used as sergeants and the other half will be used as civilian laborers." Wanyan Xiyin sighed and also made a suggestion.
"There are also the Mongols and the Koreans." Wulindazanmo finally spoke. "We can't reach the Western Mongols. The Khitans hate us to the core, so there's no need to think too much. As for the Koreans, the ruler and the Prime Minister Kim Bu-sik are both capable. I think they won't make a decision on their own until the outcome is clear... The biggest variable is Kublai Khan of Eastern Mongolia."
Because the name of the Southern Gazette was changed to Mongolia, the Jurchens were also called Mongolia.
"Then send another envoy." Wanyan Wuben thought for a moment and made a decision while pinching his chin. "Show your sincerity, and we can promise him gold, silver and other valuables. Not only the King of Eastern Mongolia, but also the Khan of the entire Mongolia! Even some tribes and villages on the border can be given to him! You have to distinguish the priorities at the critical moment!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Wuzhu, Xiyin, Qin Hui, Han Fang, Hongya, Talan, Yinshuke, Wuye, the Wulinda brothers, and Pu Jianu, almost everyone present nodded in agreement.
"I think the key to this battle is the new army." Seeing that the atmosphere was gradually becoming appropriate and his brother's opinion was also supported, Wulinda Taiyu also spoke up at the right time. He was the right deputy commander of the new army in Yanjing. "For the new army, the local men in Yanjing are still very enthusiastic, but the troops from outside the Great Wall have not arrived yet... What should we do?"
"The King of Liao just said that he would hold a special meeting of the leaders of the tribes outside the Great Wall." Wanyan Xiyin interrupted and scolded. "Even Hebule has to spend a lot of money, let alone our own people?"
"Would it be better to send someone out of the border?" Wulindazanmo asked before his brother could say anything else. "It would be faster this way."
"But who will go?" Xi Yin still frowned. "The leaders outside the Great Wall are not trivial. They need a real king to rule. At present, the King of Jin (Erliduo) has gone to Zhending Prefecture to take charge of the south. If the Song people attack suddenly, the King of Wei (Wuzhu) will also go south immediately to share the power with the King of Jin. His Royal Highness the King of Liao will also have to stay in Yanjing..."
"What if we let the king go?" Qin Hui suddenly interrupted Xi Yin. "The king is already seventeen years old. Last year, he inspected the area outside the Great Wall and dealt with the rebellion of Puluhu. If the king comes in person, the tribes outside the Great Wall will surely be excited!"
Xi Yin was stunned for a moment, and immediately looked at Wanyan Woben, who seemed to agree with Qin Hui, while Woben was obviously hesitant... because doing so would undoubtedly involve political risks.
But at this moment, Wanyan Yinshu, who had been silent before, was moved and could not help but speak: "Since it is for the sake of the new army and the three kings cannot leave the pass for a moment, why don't I, the commander-in-chief of the new army, escort the king?"
Upon hearing this, Wanyan Pu Jianu immediately joined in: "I am also willing to escort the king out of the pass. As for the tribes outside the pass, I, Pu Jianu, still have some face."
Everyone looked at each other, of course knowing that these two were unwilling to be lonely and wanted to make trouble for the king, and even wanted to use this opportunity to gather the new army and make a comeback. But at the same time, everyone had to admit that it was the best choice to let the king go out of the pass to unite the tribes in Liaodong at this time. These two accompanied the king out of the pass and asked the tribes to send troops to Yanjing in time, which could be regarded as the two of them playing their remaining energy for the overall situation.
And sure enough, after a while, after looking at each other with his fourth brother Wuzhu, the eldest prince finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "In this case, you two must take good care of the king... But Han Xueshi, Yanjing needs your help, but you can't accompany the king out of seclusion."
Yin Shuke and Pu Jianu were secretly delighted for a moment, and immediately bowed their heads as if to obey orders. Han Fang hesitated for a moment, then bowed like the first two... He knew what Oben meant . Once the Zhao Song Dynasty launched a northern expedition, it would be a war to destroy the country. The Great Jin Kingdom not only needed the power of Liaodong, but also the power of the Yanyun Han people. Their Han family was the most influential representative of the Yanyun Han people in the Jin Kingdom's high-level officials. Of course, they could not easily leave Yanjing at this time.
Seeing the two princes being so frank and the meeting being so pragmatic, Wulinda Taiyu, who had been blocked by his brother before, finally couldn't help but say: "The new army here is not only short of soldiers, but most of them are new recruits who have never seen a battle..."
"How can we let them see a battle in such a hurry?" After accepting many requests, Oben finally became impatient. "Even the newly recruited soldiers in the Song Dynasty's imperial camp have never seen a battle, right? Everyone needs to fight to see blood."
"What I mean is, can we dispatch some more veteran soldiers from the east and west to exchange them?" Wulin Datai wanted to explain quickly. "For example, we can dispatch two more veteran soldiers from Taiyuan and Longde, and send two new soldiers?"
Talai instinctively wanted to agree, but ultimately chose to remain silent and just look at the two princes and other people present.
That’s right, it was exactly the same as what Yin Shuke had just said. Everyone actually knew that Wulindatai wanted to take the opportunity to expand the strength of the troops he led, but they had to admit that considering the overall situation, doing so would be more beneficial to the possible full-scale war.
Therefore, many people in the hall were tempted for a moment, and then they inevitably turned their attention to the silent Wanyan Wuben again. However, Wuben, who had always stayed by Aguda's side during the founding period and rarely led troops independently, immediately looked at his fourth brother Wuzhu, and then attracted others to look at Wuzhu as well.
没办法的，真的是没办法的，哪怕是西夏那档子事兀术显得有些丢脸，可事到如今，论亲疏、论战事经验，在讹里朵不在的时候，不听这位的，还能听谁的？听完颜挞懒的？
They want to listen to Wanyan Aguda, Wanyan Wuqimai, Wanyan Nianhan, Wanyan Wuliebu, Wanyan Loushi...what about these people?
Wuzhu was stared at by everyone and sighed, then nodded after a long while.
It is said that the Fourth Prince was not hesitant about whether this matter was feasible or not, because in his opinion, as long as it had a positive impact on the outcome of the war, no matter who put in any selfish motives, it would be acceptable... The key was to contribute to the overall situation.
The reason why he sighed was more because he felt that Wulinda Taiyu's words pointed out a helpless fact, that is, just like the south still has to rely on those generals and commanders, although the Great Jin Kingdom has reformed its system, it also has no way to bypass those Wanhu generals and those hereditary Meng'an, so that the dispatch of troops at this level must also start from the Wanhu level.
In fact, the reason why a new army was organized in Yanjing was because the restructuring of the East and West armies could not defeat those generals.
Of course, at this point, there is no point in talking about this. Emperor Zhao has already crossed the Yellow River, so why would he care so much?
Outside the hall, cicadas chirped continuously, and the meeting inside the hall continued... It can only be said that although the top leaders of the Great Jin Dynasty were declining at this moment, the people who could make decisions were still the remnants of the founding period, and these people did not have any naive or chaotic ideas about war.
Once they knew that the Zhao Song would launch a full-scale war at any time, or even within half a year at the latest, they immediately made political compromises with each other and adopted a series of countermeasures from domestic affairs to foreign affairs, from military supplies to troops without hesitation.
And it will be implemented immediately after the meeting.
Compared to the unity in Yanjing, on the south side of the Yellow River, the Zhao Song officials, who were treated as enemies, were not having a comfortable time these days as imagined. They did not show the kind of domineering attitude that was reported in the court bulletins.
In fact, since Emperor Zhao returned to Tokyo, he has been in trouble.
The problem still lies with military preparations and Lu Yihao.
Of these, there was no need to mention military preparations. The South suffered some losses, and it was always troublesome to complete the deployment of the army. And Lu Xianggong had been in Tokyo for half a month, and he had directly caused chaos in the court, which was simply not comparable to the determination of the North to unite and fight against Emperor Zhao.
On the one hand, this husband's temper made everyone uncomfortable. Not only did Zhang Jun suddenly find that he had no say in all matters, but the provincial governor also felt uncomfortable.
On the other hand, the people who were in a bad situation were certainly unwilling to accept it, especially since Emperor Zhao had not been back for a year. When he came back, he brought Lu Yihao and a hundred reserve officials with him. Who would dare to relax? Besides, Lu Yihao was not without leverage... Let's not talk about anything else. As for the Jiedushi of Guide Army, you just wanted it if the Emperor gave it to you?
As a result, impeachments continued to come one after another, but they were not reported in the court gazette.
Of course, how could Prime Minister Lu be afraid of these things? Moreover, he asked himself if he had nothing to be ashamed of. Could he really rebel after taking over this Jiedushi? Therefore, whoever impeached him was of course a villain who was selfish and disrupted the government, and whoever impeached him would be punished that day.
The senior official who could not give a hard time was scolded and refuted on the spot in front of Emperor Zhao and other ministers!
On September 1st, Emperor Zhao took Lu Yihao out to inspect the river defenses. It was more like running away with his head in his arms than to say that Dayu passed by his home without entering.
After all, just as Prime Minister Qin Hui had judged, it would take time for Zhao Jiu's imperial camp to make final preparations, and it would also take time to store the autumn grain and then transport it to the warehouses along the Yellow River. Therefore, Wang Yan's military plan had already been clearly arranged. Unless a major unexpected event occurred, the formal Northern Expedition would be launched after the ice melted and the water rose in the spring.
The current actions and publicity are indeed aimed at intimidating the other side in order to tire out the enemy.
In short, after the autumn, both sides were conducting large-scale military deployments and preparations. Although small-scale battles occurred everywhere, the Yellow River had not yet entered the dry season, and the existence of the Imperial Camp Navy enabled the Song army to always hold the strategic initiative, and there was never any major incident that suddenly got out of control.
September 13th, it had been 13 days since Emperor Zhao left the capital again, and more than ten days had passed since the meeting of the Shangshutai of the Great Jin Kingdom... In the early morning, in Enzhou, Hebei, on the old course of the Yellow River, a group of elite Jurchen cavalry hurriedly crossed a shallow beach, their horses' hooves splashed countless water, making these elite Jurchen knights covered in water.
However, after reaching the east bank, no one cared about the water stains on their bodies, but without stopping for a moment, they escorted a middle-aged Jurchen noblewoman who was about forty years old and had a sallow complexion to Qinghe City several miles away.
When they arrived at the foot of Qinghe City, it was already daybreak. A group of knights galloped to clear the way, whipped the soldiers at the gate, and rushed directly into the city and then went straight to the county government office. The surprised county magistrate hurriedly came out to greet them, and then he personally led the yamen runners to Wu Dalang's pancake shop in the county and took all the freshly baked pancakes of this family to offer to the Jurchen noble.
Wu Dalang's family's rice cakes are famous in Hebei, so the quality is naturally needless to say, but when these people saw so many hot rice cakes, they did not stay any longer, but divided and packed the rice cakes, filled them with clean water, and left in a hurry.
At this time, people in the county knew that the person who had just arrived was the Prince of Jin of the Great Jin Kingdom, the so-called Grand Marshal Wanyan Erlido, commonly known as the Third Prince. Just because Emperor Zhao's dragon flag arrived in Yanggu, opposite Liaocheng, the Grand Marshal did not dare to be negligent and immediately rushed from Zhending Prefecture in person to Daming Prefecture to take charge and confront Emperor Zhao.
Not to mention that the news made people in the county panic, and people kept talking about it. Even Wu Dalang's family didn't dare to ask for money for the pancakes. It was said that Wanyan Erlido had been traveling all night and had pancakes for breakfast on the horse, so he galloped non-stop the whole way, and it was obvious that he wanted to reach Daming Prefecture within the day.
As a result, such abuse of body finally paid off - after swallowing four large steamed buns with cold water, Erlido felt some abdominal cramps.
At this time, the Third Prince did not care and ate immediately. The whole journey was bumpy and cold, and this kind of thing was normal. He had experienced it before, not to mention that he was exhausted all night. Besides, the military situation was urgent, so how could he rest for such a small matter?
However, after riding for several miles, the abdominal cramps continued and gradually concentrated in the lower right abdomen. At this time, Erliduo could no longer bear it and ordered to slow down. But after riding for a while, many cavalrymen who had eaten too hastily and suffered from abdominal pain had recovered, but the third prince still felt a heaviness in his abdomen. He could clearly feel the pain when pressing with his hands.
At this time, Erlido finally didn't dare to leave, and immediately told his attendants. The attendants naturally knew that this was an acute illness, and they were extremely panicked... You know, as mentioned before, since Aguda, many Jurchen nobles died in their prime. It was indeed because of their poor foundation. There are too many examples... What's more, acute illnesses these days are themselves very scary.
Therefore, the Jurchen cavalry did not dare to let Erlido stay on the horse. Instead, they made a hammock between two horses and escorted their third prince to the nearest town, which was called Ninghua Town. They found the largest house in the town, rushed in, drove the people away, and then settled them down on the spot.
At the same time, three teams of cavalry were divided. One team looked for doctors in the town, one team went to Qinghe County behind to look for pharmacies and clinics, and the other team went directly to Daming Prefecture to contact Gao Jingshan, the commander-in-chief of the Daming Prefecture's military headquarters.
However, in Ninghua Town, these Jurchen cavalry turned the entire street upside down and killed seven or eight people, but they still couldn't find a doctor. When they asked everyone one by one, they all said that there was a genius in internal medicine, but he later fled to the opposite side of Yue's army and became a military doctor.
Even though the Jurchen cavalry could kill people, they were helpless at this moment.
At the same time, the symptoms of the Third Prince became more and more obvious... First, he sweated slightly and had a slight fever, then his abdomen felt heavy, and his urination was frequent and irregular. The leader of the personal guards pressed on it himself and found that the softness and hardness of the left and right abdomen were obviously different.
At this time, the Third Prince himself and those knowledgeable among his personal guards had basically guessed that it was very likely that he ate the pancakes too quickly in the morning and developed an intestinal abscess!
I also felt helpless and nervous.
Sure enough, in the afternoon, Ximen Daguanren, who ran a pharmacy in Qinghe County, was arrested along with his three doctors. The diagnosis results were all intestinal abscess... and it was most likely an acute malignant abscess, which is the kind caused by severe shaking and something entering the vermiform process (appendix).
After figuring out what was going on and the doctors had arrived, the Third Prince and several of his guards relaxed a little, then calmed down and used a decoction, namely, Rhubarb and Peony Decoction... Anyone with a little medical knowledge knew this, and the personal guards also knew it, and the local officials from Qinghe who came with them also said so... Of course, the Third Prince had nothing to say.
Therefore, the personal guard watched the medicine being prepared and personally prepared the rhubarb and peony soup, and helped the Third Prince drink a dose. As expected, he felt better for a while, and it was said that the pain was relieved.
By the evening, someone from Daming Prefecture finally arrived. They saw that although the Third Prince had a fever, the pain was gradually subsiding. After talking to him, he became conscious and so they felt relieved.
At this time, the Third Prince took another dose of medicine, and the pain seemed to be less. He finally cheered up and ordered a reward for Ximen Daguanren, who came to take his pulse, with some gold.
At this time, Ximen Daguanren, who came from a family of medical scholars, wanted to tell these people that the stomachache no longer existed, which did not necessarily mean that the condition had improved. Instead, it was very likely that the condition would fester. If there were any surgical experts, they would be ready to give him an injection... However, with the gold in his hands and thinking about the bloodstains on the street in Ninghua Town during the day, how could he dare to speak?
Besides, it’s not that easy to give injections or perform surgery these days.
It's also a gamble with your life!
Moreover, once he opens his mouth, if no doctor can be found in a hurry, it will definitely be him, Mr. Ximen, and a few doctors on duty who will do the surgery... But they are just doctors on duty in the pharmacy, and they are not good at surgery, right?
So, that night, Ximen Daguanren thought over and over again, and always felt that he was a kind person who would avoid ants, and he was the only son in three generations, so he should not stay here to die. So he did not discuss with the doctors, but put the gold on his back, took advantage of the night and the opportunity that the servants were relaxed because the third prince's "improvement", and secretly climbed over the wall to escape...Then he thought of Qinghe, where he had some awkward situations with the local powerful neighbor Wu Dalang's family because of some ridiculous rumors in the south. He might be betrayed by the other party if he went back, so he did not even go home, but ran to the Yongji Canal with the gold on his back to find a boat, and then fled all the way to the northeast, wandering around the world from then on.
The next morning, the pain of the Third Prince was relieved. When he took the decoction again, he found that Ximen Daguanren had escaped. He was also surprised and quickly called the three doctors to come and check his pulse. At this time, the three doctors looked at each other, how could they not know the reason? They said frankly that the Third Prince's pulse was urgent and his abdomen was hard, and he was afraid that the intestinal abscess had festered.
It is recommended to use a knife needle.
The Jurchens were stunned, but they could not help but believe that Master Ximen had escaped, so they called on the three men to use knives, but the three men said they did not know how to use them.
How could the Jurchens trust them? They came to ask several times, but they said they didn’t know, so they just chopped off their heads.
As a result, in the afternoon, the intestinal abscess of the Third Prince became as hard as iron and the pain became unbearable. In a hurry, he could not find a doctor and could only take rhubarb and peony soup. However, it did not relieve the pain at all. Instead, even going to the toilet became painful.
When he asked the increasing number of local officials and surrounding military commanders who had gathered there, those with experience all said that it was time to give him acupuncture... So he went to look for a doctor again, but he found out that the news had already spread, and all the doctors had fled... Finally, he had no choice but to find a Khitan doctor in the army to give him acupuncture.
The Khitan doctor was also innocent. He could only perform shaman dances and use herbal medicine, but he was forced to use needles, otherwise he would die. What else could he do? He just shouted "Blue Ox and White Horse" and then inserted the needle directly into the hard spot on the right abdomen of the Third Prince.
As a result, foul-smelling pus and blood began to flow out through his flesh and blood, and the Third Prince's complexion improved slightly.
Everyone thought that the Third Prince had been saved, but unexpectedly, that night, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin first had a high fever, and then in the second half of the night he actually started to shiver... It looked bad from top to bottom, but apart from preparing a rhubarb and peony soup, there was nothing they could do.
At dawn, which was the third day after the Third Prince's carbuncle, Gao Jingshan arrived in person with the good doctors from Daming Prefecture, only to find that the Third Prince's face was flushed due to fever, he was no longer conscious, and even talking nonsense, while pus was still oozing out of his abdomen intermittently, making the surrounding wounds black and red, and swollen like a meat pancake.
After finally waking up for a moment, I just felt cold. I reached out to touch my forehead and found it was burning hot.
Gao Jingshan privately questioned several good doctors from Daming Prefecture and was silent for a while. After all, the old Wanhu, the current head of the Bohai clan and the commander-in-chief of the Daming Prefecture’s military division, was a man who had seen a lot of storms. He remained calm, and while thinking about the storm that was about to come, he went directly to Yanjing to write a letter of apology.
In the evening, just after finishing writing the memorial, the Third Prince had another attack. His teeth were chattering, his whole body was burning hot, and he smelled terrible. He tossed and turned all night long, but he died in Qinghe County before the full moon of September 15th set.
He died at the age of forty.
Poor Third Prince, he actually lived a few months longer than in history. If he really had a spirit in heaven, he would probably wish he had died with Wuqimai half a year earlier.
"Who died? Tell me again, who died?"
On September 18, in the Wushan camp of the imperial army on the south bank of the Yellow River, opposite Liaocheng, Zhao Jiu was stunned by the son of the Liaocheng county magistrate of the Jin Kingdom who had escaped overnight. He was like being struck by lightning, and then he suddenly realized. "Do you think I'm Cao Mengde?! You want to be Kan Ze?! You are a traitor. What good did the Jurchens give you and your son?!"